The stakes have always been elevated come postseason play.
But they couldn’t be much higher than a state tournament berth potentially on the line in the middle of region volleyball play.
And that, once again, is where the volleyball programs of Region 1B find themselves. Region 1 includes the likes of powerhouse programs like Warner and Northwestern, a burgeoning Hitchcock-Tulare team and an up-and-coming program like Aberdeen Christian.
All four teams have statement wins to their credit this season and a strong belief in themselves, and only two of them will advance beyond region play.
Add in the likes of Wolsey-Wessington just down the Highway 281 corridor and a handful of other Lake Region Conference squads like Faulkton and Ipswich, and there’s plenty to like about the state of volleyball in the northeast portion of the state.
“Just in this north part of the state, I think the level of volleyball has increased in the last 10 years,” said Hitchcock-Tulare coach Jordan Opp. “Part of it is, I think more of the girls are playing club. They’re touching the ball more often over the summer and I think that’s shown in the level of competition.”
That, plus some consistency in the coaching ranks means the players can focus on honing their skills, not learning a new system.
“Quite a few of the teams that you’re talking about have coaches that have been there a while, so their programs have grown and been more consistent,” said Warner coach Kari Jung. “Wolsey, Hitchcock, Northwestern, us, all those teams, it helps to have some consistency in the coaching staff. You don’t have to make changes every year and the kids know what to expect.”
The result?
A highly competitive regular season where, really, anything is possible.
“It’s been fun, you have to go out every night and be ready to go because you know you’re going to have some good competition,” Jung said. “It makes for a more exciting season overall.“
But that exciting, competitive regular season will not mean a thing this week. If anything is possible during the regular season, a misstep in the postseason can send teams packing.
“I think it helps us to have a tough region, because I think it pushes kids every day and coaches every day because we know what we’re up against,” Jung said. “Hopefully that helps us prepare for the playoffs, but it also really doesn’t matter in that second round. If you get by the first round, it doesn’t matter, it’s going to be a tough game second round.”
In other words, no one can afford to take a night off.
Opp said he has talked about this with his squad multiple times as the Patriots prepare for region tournament play.
“Yeah, we went 26-4, which is a heck of a season, but at the same time, everybody starts 0-0 in the postseason,” he said. “We know what we’re up against coming down the stretch. It doesn’t really matter how well you did in the regular season, you have to bring it here in the postseason.”
The same holds true in other regions as well with multiple teams vying for just two SoDak 16 spots.
Which, for some, begs a question.
The SoDak 16 system was implemented nine years ago, replacing the old system of district tournaments followed by region tournaments, meaning just one team from a two-district region would advance to the state tournament.
The SoDak 16 abolished district tournaments, replacing them with larger region tournaments, out of which two teams would advance and be seeded into a 16-team playoff for state tournament spots.
For Opp, that change was needed at the time. And another one might be needed now.
“I think you look back nine years ago when they did it and I think our sport has developed and matured and we are playing a lot better,” he said. “We have a lot better teams, a lot more competition, and now we’re seeing that. Is our system keeping up with our level of play?”
Opp said a 32-team playoff has been discussed, though it didn’t make it past the advisory committee last year.
“I don’t know if that’s the way to do it, but I think it’s one option a guy has to look at,” he said.
In the meantime, the Region 1B tournament marches on, and should the top seeds all advance today, it sets up a showdown on Thursday of high-level volleyball on both sides of the bracket. Warner and Hitchcock-Tulare would meet in Warner in that case (they met in the semifinals of last year’s state tournament). Warner is rated third in the final Class B poll and Hitchcock-Tulare is rated fourth.
“We know what we’re up against,” Jung said. “It’s hard to play against a group of kids that have that kind of experience, but we’re hoping home court advantage will help us a little bit. We just know we have to be ready to go.”
One team will advance. One will go home.
“Sometimes, that’s the way life goes,” Jung admitted. “You may not get there. It’s not fun, and it’s hard on the kids, but it’s also a learning thing for them. You’ve just got to keep working hard and hope you come to play on the night you play.”
